Paul George Practices in Full, Reasserts Desire to Return in Mid-March

Paul George has been cleared by the Indiana Pacers medical staff to practice fully, and he hopes that the final hurdle for him to return to the court — fitness and how his body responds to contact — will be cleared soon. After his first full practice yesterday, George met with a throng of reporters and shared his views on when he will be ready to play a real game.

He definitely still wants to be back as soon as the doctors tell him he can.

Paul George also started off in joke mode, suggesting in jest that he would play tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but then said it really wasn’t up to him. The medical staff will have the final say — of course — though PG believes he does have some say in the matter.

Until then, he will just keep doing what he can to get his body ready to play an NBA game.

The work he has done during his recovery shows.

The hard cutting, hesitation, change of speed and — lastly — the explosion needed to star in the NBA will be the real tests once he gets back on the court. But Paul George clearly has been working in the gym all year, as his arms look noticeably bigger and stronger than they did last summer.

Reportedly, according to Scott Agenss of Vigilant Sports, Paul George is up to a whopping 235 pounds.

It isn’t all good news though.

Frank Vogel and Paul George both stressed that the Pacers franchise player still has a “long way” to go before he can get on a court. The next few weeks will prove everything, and PG admitted that there is still a chance the comeback doesn’t happen this season.

Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star quoted Vogel noting that George isn’t doing a lot that he hasn’t been doing before and that there are a lot more steps he will need to see Paul make before he is confident that there will be a return..

"“We want him to come back when he’s ready to come back. He’s eager to get out on the court, but he’s not going to do it before he’s ready,” Vogel said. “We understand once he’s medically cleared to play in a game, then there’s going to be: Is he ready to play in a game? And that could be a few more weeks beyond that. It’s really going to be something we monitor almost on a daily basis and hopefully it progresses as well.”Over the past several weeks, George has increased his level of activity, hopping in and out of drills and plays with teammates. On Thursday, George had no limitations in his first entry into full-court, 5-on-5 work. Still, Vogel said George’s day was not markedly different from his previous workouts in practices.“This is not a dramatic step from where he was,” Vogel said. “Just taking a step. Nothing more than that.”"

But Paul George said the more he works, the more he is starting to see “the old PG” the more he runs up and down the court and that he likes the progress he is feeling, but the doctors will clear him only when he is ready and that could not come this year.